2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. Instead, it was the beginning of ours. Halo 4, despite being the seventh or eighth game in the Halo series depending on how you count them, was our first game. That is to say, our first-ever fully fledged title, built from the ground up creatively and technologically. So let me save you the trouble of trolling my statement: We have a lot to learn. We made a lot of mistakes. We can do better. And we know this, and we will. But I don’t want to spend the first moments of the year thinking about the negatives, because frankly, I am incredibly proud of both the team and the game that team created.

It’s not too far-fetched to assume a related video game is on the way when LEGO announces new licenses. We’ve been graced with two LEGO Batman games representing the DC half of the LEGO Super Heroes line and now it looks like “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” is finally on the way, for just about every platform.

You may have heard of the popular indie game Slender: The Eight Pages, based on the Slenderman Creepy Pasta stories. It quickly gained popularity last year on account of the fear and loneliness that Slenderman stories are often loaded with, perfectly slipped into video-game form. Slender: The Arrival is a followup project with much higher production value compared to the previous game. It’s also going to cost money, but just watching the trailer reveals why – it contains much more than the previous one. Check out the trailer below, or follow the link below for more information.

Today Sony Patented a new design to stop usage of games on more than one console. The patent itself basically describes a stamp on discs that the console will recognize and reply with data that restricts the disc to that console only.

We heard the same kind of rumors when the supposed “Orbis” was first leaked earlier this year. At the time, I felt that there was no way it would happen. I thought that it would effect too many people too quickly.

The search for meaning is a natural response to any tragedy, and the latest U.S. mass shooting is eliciting questions about, among other things, the potential role of violent video games. After all, with kids and increasingly teenagers spending so much time hammering away at simulated shooters, is it any wonder when they pick up actual guns? Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod lamented on Twitter, “In NFL post-game: an ad for shoot ‘em up video game. All for curbing weapons of war. But shouldn’t we also quit marketing murder as a game?”